I fully believe that July’s content update is going to be one of the largest and most consequential updates to the game in the time since it was released in Sept 2021. There have been a lot of ups and downs along the way but talk to most of us who have stuck it out why we play and it’s simple. We have fun with what’s there and nearly every month there’s something new being added to the game. Not a lot of MMO’s lately have been doing updates monthly let alone yearly. World of Warcraft is experiencing one of the longest content droughts with the lackluster Shadowlands expansion. Blizzard even going as far as claiming in pre-orders that it will ship Dec 31, 2022. The experienced among us know that’s just a guesstimate and they will be waiting well into 2023 for the next content release to happen. ESO’s High Isle will be played out within weeks, and even FFXIV is well into their next expansion. Meanwhile just in the first 6 months of this year we have seen the release of mutated dungeons (similar to Mythic+ in WOW), release of the Tempest Heart dungeon and its mutated version shortly after, and even beginner dungeons have had mutators added to them and brought up to end level difficulty with Depths being the first and we expect Starstone and Amrine to follow in the next several months. Oh! They also added Instruments that provide buffs.
July is bringing changes to many systems in the game. We have the Barnacles and Black Powder expedition, changes to perks, crafting changes, balance changes, the LFG system, and wars are now going to be instanced to help with performance. It’s a lot for anyone to wrap their head around, but if you’ve been away playing those other MMO’s and looking for some spice in your life you might want to take another round inside Aternum. Depending on where you left off, you’ll have a variety of changes to experience. Some who left before level 30 will find that leveling is now fast and you’re no longer gated by dungeons. If you’re worried about lack of similar leveling players it’s not an issue since we have seen an uptick of new characters either experienced players creating alt characters (As if you need one!) or new players to the game, on any busy server I’ve been on the help channel is full of people asking and receiving help from their fellow players. (Big thanks to those of us who give new players a hand!)
If you’re already level 60 then when the new patch hits, you’re going to be in the thick of it if you’re a pvp player looking for that perfect build again. I think it keeps the game fresh when perks/abilities are tuned every few months. Yes, you end up replacing gear, but these new perks and adjustments enable even more build flexibility it’s going to be a bit before everyone figures out what’s what. Over 100 perks have been adjusted here! Plus, split stat gear is being favored. Say that 10STR/5CON piece will now be a 15STR/5CON piece. If you build a full split stat setup you can gain up to 50 extra points to spend on attributes! That’s huge for tanks who wish they could be 300/200 in high mutators but need the 200/300 split for survivability. Now a 300/250 build is possible and with new defensive perks you have more survivability and can go without the extra 50 that 300 con build would normally have.
What if you’re a person who quit over dupes? We’ll that’s been fixed come July the entire setup around stats and perks is changing and almost everyone is going to be re-rolling armor and weapons. My only complaint is gold cap makes trading a little more of a hassle sometimes, but it’s a winner’s problem there. Trust me when I say that they’re not going to be able to buy their way back to the top easily.
Wars will also now be instanced which will reduce strain on the world and within the war itself. Arenas are already instanced, and performance was spectacular inside them. This new technology is paving way for cross server play down the road and leaderboards.
Stay tuned as we begin to break down some of the PTR patch notes so it’s more easily digestible. July’s going to be big, and do not miss out on Double XP bonuses through July 4th.
